Playing God
by Nathander
Summary: [Pre-Episode I] Albedo has been a loner for years, a position he never had any love for. He meets another loner in an unexpected form, and finds himself making a choice between mercy and cruelty.


Playing God 

Legal Info: None of the characters or places presented in this story are my property. All characters held within are the property of Monolith Studios and Namco.

Note: This story takes place shortly before MOMO's rescue from Pleroma in Episode I.

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The wind was sharp and cool today, much too tepid and boring for Albedo's taste. He had decided to wait on Second Miltia for Marguilus' message, mainly for the fact that he wanted to irritated Marguilus as much as he could for forcing him to wait for what was rightfully his for so long. It would take even his mech, Simeon, a bit of time to close the distance gap between Second Miltia and Pleroma.

And besides, the planet's name itself invoked feelings of nostalgia within him. He had found that these feelings were some of most painful he could ever imagine, and he loved it; it seemed only these were capable of inflicting emotional pain inside him, despite how small the pain was. Yet, even the slightest emotional pain reminded him he was still alive and could continue to enjoy his perversities.

He let Simeon hover over one of the oceans while he had climbed out of the cockpit, sitting with ease on top of it. He left one of his Kirschwassers, the one who he considered his favorite (despite the fact that he had never given them names, he was seemingly able to differentiate between them) inside of the cockpit in her usual co-pilot seat. The Kirschwasser was nowhere near as agile as he was, and the chance was too great that it would plunge into the ocean, engulfed by oblivion. Not that he particularly cared about its safety; he merely wanted it for the surprise he had for his peche, his adorable little peach, for so long. A lovely show, and the Kirschwassers, though worthless compared to his peche, would take center stage for it. It was only fair, as it would be their swan song after all.

The thoughts themselves amused him, and he found himself upon the verge of laughter. He had come to find that he laughed much more now then he ever had as a child. He had, after all, found much more humor in things since then. Nearly anything was funny, as long as you could see the joke, the bitter joke, hidden within it. His laughter carried out over the ocean, echoing perhaps even into the depths of the sea.

His laughter stopped short, however, as a gentler sound wafted through the air. While normal humans would have had trouble catching the sound over Albedo's laughter, it was easy for him; he was, after all, meant to help fight U-DO.

Standing up, he squinted into the horizon, trying to catch the source of the sound. He knew what it was, and didn't have to wait long for his belief to be confirmed. The sound stopped as it got closer to him, eventually ending near him with a small, barely audible thump upon the top of the mech. The sound had, of course, been the sound of wings beating in the air. The creature perched upon his mech was a bird, covered in gentle white feathers like a small angel, its eyes observing as much as its small brain could observe. A simple bird.

At least, it would have been simple thousands of years ago. Birds, due to how plentiful they were, were a few of the creatures taken on the ships that fled Lost Jerusalem so long ago in an attempt to preserve the lifeforms from Lost Jerusalem. They had been distributed and bred as best as possible upon each colonized planet. Those upon Miltia had suffered the worst due to the being forced to a new planet yet again when humanity was forced to relocate to Second Miltia. The animals themselves had seemed to have grown forlorn from so much travel, and seemed to have lost the will to live. As far as most people had believed, they were extinct on Miltia.

This bird, Albedo believed, was quite possible the last upon Second Miltia. He was amazed that something so small was able to fly so far. What reason did it have to try to travel across an ocean? The reason dawned on him quickly and simply: survival. It wished to survive, and seeing that the pickings were slim on its side of the ocean, was trying to flee to the other side, despite the danger.

Moving quickly yet quietly, he scooped the curious little bird up in his hands, staring at it straight in its eyes. "After all," he thought, chuckling mentally, "it's only polite to look someone in the eyes when you're talking to them." Surprisingly, even to him, the bird seemed completely unafraid of him. Maybe birds themselves had become so accustomed to traveling with humans that they were no longer afraid of them. Of course, this one also had the nerve to cross the ocean, a brave feat especially for a bird since it had no idea how long the flight could be, plunging into the unknown. "Little bird," he said to the creature, its head tilting in puzzlement, "why do you try so hard to survive? What reason do you have, and what purpose does it serve?"

He paced upon the top of the mech as he talked to the bird, his footing sure and steady. After all, if he fell into the ocean there really wasn't damage that could truly be done. "Do you know what's out there, little bird?" he inquired, bringing the small being close to his face. "Terrible things, monstrous things you'd be better not seeing. Murder, destruction, rape, child molestation. But, of course, what are these things to you?" He held the bird high, like a torch that was illuminating his way in deep darkness. He smiled widely as he continued to talk. "And what do they matter to me? Let humanity destroy itself; in the end, I may be the only thing left here anyways. I'm the only one of my kind with my powers left, why not the last sentient being alive?" At this, he broke out laughing again, the bird merely puzzled by the larger creatures' behavior than frightened.

He brought the bird back to eye level, his laughter ceasing though his smile remained. "You're like me, aren't you little bird? Wandering, no place to go, surviving despite the fact you truly have no reason to." His hands clasped around the bird's whole body except its head. "Take comfort that you're being given a gift I am denied."

In a swift motion he crushed the bird's small body within his hands, blood splattering out in a burst, graymatter and bone coming through the ruined skin and feathers. His laughter commenced, louder than before as he knelt, smearing the poor body along the mech's top, hysteria increasing with every moment.

"How is it?" he shrieked between laughs. "It is nice? Is it relieving to be dead? Do you still have to shit when you're dead? Wouldn't that be a wonderful joke: ectoplasmic excretion!"

He found the concept both ridiculous and horribly hysterical, his laughter echoing through the area, his body shaky as the pure joy of strong laughter can do. After a moment, he began to reduce his laughter to a light chuckle. "You die in my place. You die because I can not." He stated towards the smeared body that had been alive only minutes ago. "You are me, you see. My little avian self. That's why you had to die, you see. Perhaps you're death can relieve a bit of my pain." His smile growing to Cheshire-cat proportions, he leaned over and looked at the gory smear, "Perhaps you'll become a psychopomp and announce me to the rulers of the dead and come to lead me to hell once I die."

He could feel more laughter beginning to bubble up but quickly subdued it as a small beeping sound reached his ears. Smiling to himself, he jumped back into the cockpit of the mech and quickly turned the communicator on. "We're ready Albedo. The realian is yours to do with as long as you adhere to our agreement." Marguilus announced, the small communication screen showing only his facial features as he talked. At times, Albedo liked to pretend he truly WAS just a floating dismembered head. He found that concept quite entertaining.

Smiling to himself as he prepared for the mech to launch, he stated "I'll be there as soon as possible. I'm leaving from Second Miltia."

"I thought I had asked you to station yourself someplace close, Albedo." Marguilus stated, attempting to keep his temper under control towards the URTV. "You could have at least granted us that."

"I was merely trying to be considerate of your troops. I thought the farther away I was, the more comfortable they'd be and thus least likely to ruin everything." His smile continued to widen as he tried to stop his laughter from bubbling out. "And besides, I have good memories about this place. And I made a new friend! I'm afraid you won't get to meet him though; he's a shy little fellow."

Marguilus sighed in disgust, not desiring to prolong this seemingly inane conversation. "Merely get here with haste, Albedo. That is all." The screen went blank, and there was silence except for Albedo's laughter.

And what didn't he have to be happy about? Everything was coming together: he'd soon have his dear belle peche, and he would relieve the Kirschwassers of their suffering, allowing them to move on from their pathetic, unimportant lives. True, he would miss them, but that couldn't bother a god such as himself. What else could he be but a god, after all? Perhaps overman would be the better word, but god had such a nicer, more powerful ring to it. And every god had to make some sacrifices. Even sometimes sacrifice themselves, though he had that already accomplished.

Laughing hysterical, the Simeon took off. The heat of exiting the atmosphere would strip away any evidence of the little birds existence. Albedo couldn't help but think of that and smile. "Yes…." He remarked lightly under his breath, "I am cleansed with pure fire, my blood devoured." His eyes widened nearly as much as his mouth, his smile a ghastly, demonic look, reflecting the death already inside him.

"Yes, purify it! DEVOUR IT ALL!"

He laughed all the way to Pleroma, letting the fire of madness consume him as he so often did.

Author's Note: I hope that I at least somewhat captured Albedo's psychosis, though I doubt I did all that well. I'm also afraid that the story itself seemed to skewed. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to read this story.


End file.
